Gavin Finney was born in London in 1963 and studied film production at Manchester Polytechnic and then specialised in cinematography at the National Film and Television School based at what was once Beaconsfield Studios, West London. He joined the British Society of Cinematographers in 1998 and was their president from 2006–2008 when he received the Arri/John Alcott Award.
Where did you go to school and when did you leave?
I went to school in Hampstead and Highgate in London. I finished school at eighteen.
Were you interested in film as a child?
I was, but not any more than anyone else.
Did you have a film career in mind while at school or did you think about that later?
It was after leaving school but I was interested in photography and was in the photographic society. I was probably more interested in photography than film at that time. My other interest was science.
What got you interested in film?
It fell into place. I like photography but I also like story telling, literature, and English. It seemed the right thing to do, to combine photography with story telling. I went to film school and at that time I didn’t know I would be a cinematographer, I just wanted to get an idea of what all the jobs were.
Why did you lean towards cinematography?
Well, it was quite quick—it was at Manchester polytechnic. You tend to form crews with your fellow students and each person has an inclination. One person wanted to be a producer and one wanted to direct. So that left me with lighting and operating, which I found that I loved. I suddenly fell into it. I have also edited, recorded sound, produced, and directed myself. We had to make a commercial for a Kodak competition, which we went on to win. That was when I thought this is brilliant and decided I wanted to be a DP.
Gavin Finney. Courtesy of Gavin Finney
After film school did you go into the business as a focus puller or loader?
It was a combination. Before going to Manchester I was a runner at Lime House TV in the Docklands. When I came out of Manchester Polytechnic, as it was called then I was a clapper loader. Having tasted being a DP and seeing how long it would take to go through the ranks, I decided to go back to film school and was accepted by the National Film and Television School. The plan was to get a good enough show reel at the National to come out as a DP. This meant turning work down as a loader and focus puller. One of my first professional jobs after the NFTS was operating. I still felt I just wanted to be a DP and not take work as an operator. I got an agent after leaving film school and got work in pop promos. I was eventually offered a ninety-minute drama.
How did you get into features?
It was through directors I had worked with in commercials and pop promos.
Was working on your first feature nerve wracking?
Every job is nerve wracking to begin with—it never stops being.
How does TV compare to features?
I have done a lot of both. In a way they are coming closer together. Big budget TV can be bigger than some British feature films in terms of the budget. Viewers at home have much larger sets in the 16/9 ratio, so composition can be closer to that used in cinema and the same cameras and lenses are used. The only real difference now is time. TV schedules can be brutal whereas cinema schedules tend to be a little bit more realistic.
Do you operate as well as do DP work?
I do both. I have done a lot of productions with an operator; I also operate a “B” camera if required. I have recently operated on a couple of projects—it depends how the director wants to work and what is right for the film. You need a good crew to back you up if you are operating as well. If you have a lot of stages to light and a lot of logistics then it helps to have an operator. If it is a small-scale thing and you can’t get two people in a room you might as well be on the camera. Having been a photographer and then been an operator at film school it comes naturally to operate.
Do you have an agent?
I do have an agent; they give me projects to consider. They also act as a buffer between myself and the production company in negotiations.
Do you shoot much hand held?
I have and I love it. My last major project was entirely hand held.
I am not really in favour of hand held because of camera shake.
There is fake hand held where the director tells the cameraman to shake the camera around in a way that a documentary cameraman would never hold a camera. That is horrible because it’s just an excuse for a lack of energy or drama in a scene. Some feel they are giving the film a documentary realism but a documentary cameraman wouldn’t do that. If you do hand held properly, there needn’t be any shake.
What have been your worst and best moments on the set?
You tend to forget the worst moments otherwise you would never work again. At the end of the shoot you forget how stressful it was. You always hope you can do things better. What you do on the day you can’t undo. I tend not to look at my previous work because I might find something I feel I could have done better.
What do you think of digital compared to film?
Film is an astonishing medium; it has been around for over a hundred years. One of the biggest worries of digital is, will you be able to play the material years down the line. With film you can hold it up and see what is there, with the digital format you can’t. It is constantly changing, so I think that is a big headache for archiving. In terms of shooting, digital has come a long way. We were told for a long time that film was dead and it clearly wasn’t. In the last few years though digital has come on leaps and bounds to a state where a few of the cameras are really good. Nowadays TV dramas are shot with feature film quality equipment, whereas before it was only 16mm. On some of my recent projects I have done things that I would not have been able to do on film.
Some people say digital is clinical?
It can be. It is a bit like when we went from vinyl to CD, when everyone missed the unique sound of the vinyl. A lot of people said that the sound on CDs was clinical, not having the warm sound of vinyl. I suppose you get used to it. There is a recent trend now to use very old lenses on digital cameras to try and give the format some texture.
Have you a favourite piece of kit?
Not really, I often use different camera equipment on different jobs. For every new job I test all the equipment available because it is constantly changing. Actually the best kit is the simple stuff. There is a Swedish device called an Easy-Rig, which looks a bit like a rucksack with a pole on the top. It takes most of the weight of the camera when you are hand held and that has saved my back on many jobs. I think it is rather limiting to have a camera or lens you like and use on every job because it makes everything the same. I like to try new things.
Which film stock did you prefer?
Often I would mix Kodak and Fuji on the same job to tell different parts of the story. I tended to lean more towards Fuji. Kodak was a bit harder and a bit colder. Sometimes if I was doing a period film I would use Fuji and if doing a contemporary film it would be Kodak. One of the great things about film was that we had choices. What is interesting is that a lot of new directors who have only known digital are desperate to shoot film. I hope it doesn’t die. It is a very important part of our history and the choice to use it should still be there.
Do you have any favourite directors?
No, by the time I am on a film the collaboration should work, because you like their work and they like yours. Directors often become friends. The ones I enjoy working with the most are the ones who are visually challenging and have interesting ideas of their own and still listen to yours.
Do you prefer studio or location work?
I love both. In England studio work is great because you don’t have to worry about the weather. On location you get much more reality, you can look out of the window and see the real outside. You can move from room to room and then move outside in one move, which you can’t do in the studio. On location you are at the mercy of the weather, so they both have their challenges.
What is the best and worst thing about being a DP?
The best is that every day is different, it is endlessly creative and you are meeting people all the time, who become new friends. There has not been a single day since I left film school where I haven’t loved my job. It is like a hobby; when I’m not filming I’m not sure what to do. When you have been on a long job you want to stop and have a break, but then quite quickly you want to get back. It’s a great big toyshop you’re playing with. One gets to work with great actors, telling stories in amazing locations. You never ever get bored and that is fantastic.
What do you think of the long hours?
Simple, they are too long. The silly thing about the health and safety documents is that none of them mention the excessive hours we are often asked to work. It’s something they are beginning to work on. I know that more sensible productions are pulling back from six-day weeks and returning to five-day weeks, which is much better for the crew. Unfortunately some have done that by increasing the hours in the day, which can be just as bad. You are not at your best after twelve hours of working then two more travelling. The film suffers, people suffer, and their health suffers.
What was the best advice you were given and who gave it to you?
I have been given a lot of good advice. The one I remember the most was from cinematographer Billy Williams when he did a lighting course at my film school. He basically showed me how not to use the light meter, not to be wedded to it. Billy said, “If it looks good to your eye, film it. The meter is a tool, but also trust your eyes.” That was a good bit of advice from a top cinematographer.
Do you find it easy to adapt to each director’s way of working?
Yes, absolutely—you have to be flexible, it’s their film, not yours, so you have to accept that part of your job is to put the director’s vision on the screen. So that means you have to adapt to how they work. Before every shot you talk to the director. They will often have ideas about set-ups and how the staging will go. You talk about it and you look at how the actors are going to do it. Finally you come up with the angles. I have never been on a job where the director told me to put a 50mm on or said put the camera over there—it has always been collaborative.
How important do you think the photographic style is to the success of the film?
It is a collaborative process between lots of departments. If someone likes something I have shot, what they often mean is they also like the production design, the location, the costume and make up. Without those I have got nothing to photograph. You can’t claim sole authorship of the picture because everyone has put something in it. Having said that it’s a movie, it’s about images, so absolutely the photographic style is a huge part of transmitting the story to the audience.
Do you have a favourite film or digital camera?
I think the final evolution of the Arricam ST was very good, but in the film days it was usually more about lenses and stock. You hoped the body was quiet and it didn’t damage the film. In terms of digital, the camera contributes much more to the look. However, there can be too much focus on the camera sometimes. There is no short cut to knowledge and skill, and the camera on its own won’t make you a better cinematographer. Cameras seem to change, improve, and get replaced every six months so I can’t really say I have a favourite because next time it might be different.
What was your proudest moment?
There have been many. Winning my first award was one of them. Also being elected to The British Society of Cinematographers in 1998 and being the first person to win the BAFTA, RTS, and BSC awards in the same year.
Do you have interests away from film?
I enjoy cooking, good wine, music, scuba diving, and photography is still a hobby.
Filmography
Strangers (1990, Danny Cannon)
This Boy’s Story (1992, John Roberts)
The Young Americans (1993, Danny Cannon)
Football Crazy, TV movie documentary (1994, Anand Tucker)
Beyond Bedlam (1994, Vadim Jean)
A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day (1994, Angela Pope)
The English Wife, TV movie (1995, Simon Shore)
The Sculptress, TV movie (1996, Stuart Orme)
Witness against Hitler, TV movie (1996, Betsan Morris Evans)
Family Money, TV series (1996)
Dad Savage (1998, Betsan Morris Evans)
A Rather English Marriage, TV movie (1998, Paul Seed)
Forgotten, TV mini series, 3 episodes (1999)
Tom’s Midnight Garden (1999, Willard Carroll)
Gormenghast, TV mini series, 4 episodes (2000)
Breathtaking (2000, David Green)
The Sound of Claudia Schiffer, short (2000, Nicolas Roeg)
Gentlemen’s Relish, TV movie (2001, Douglas Mackinnon)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001, Chris Columbus); 2nd unit
Inquisition, TV movie (2002, Betsan Morris Evans)
Twelfth Night, or What You Will, TV movie (2003, Tim Supple)
Alex and Emma (2003, Rob Reiner)
Colditz, TV movie (2005, Stuart Orme)
Bailey’s Billions (2005, David Devine)
Keeping Mum (2005, Niall Johnson)
These Foolish Things (2005, Julia Taylor-Stanley)
The Flying Scotsman (2006, Douglas Mackinnon)
Hogfather, TV movie (2006, Vadim Jean)
St Trinian’s (2007, Oliver Parker, Barnaby Thompson)
The Colour of Magic, TV movie (2008, Vadim Jean)
Agatha Christie’s Marple (TV series, 1 episode: Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? 2009)
Going Postal, TV movie (2010, Jon Jones)
Reunited, TV movie (2010, Simon Delaney)
I Do, short (2010, Duncan Cargill)
Sinbad, TV series, 4 episodes (2012)
The Fear, TV mini series, 4 episodes (2012)
Mr Selfridge, TV series, 2 episodes (2013)
Agatha Christie: Poirot, TV series, 1 episode (2013)
The Guilty, TV mini series, 3 episodes (2013)
Wolf Hall, TV mini series (2014)
Endeavour, TV series, 1 episode (2014)
Awards
The English Wife (1995) 1995: Nominated for Best Photography—Drama Royal Television Society
Gormenghast (2000) 2000: Won Best Photography—Drama, Royal Television Society
Hogfather (2006) 2007: Nominated for Best Photography and Lighting Fiction, BAFTA
2008: Won The John Alcott Memorial Award
Going Postal (2010) 2010: Won Best Photography: Drama, Royal Television Society
Going Postal (2010) 2011: Nominated for Best Photography and Lighting: Drama BAFTA
The Fear (2012) Won Best photography and lighting—Drama BAFTA
The Fear (2012) 2013: Won Best Cinematography in a Television Drama, British Society of Cinematographers
The Fear (2012) 2013: Won Best Photography: Drama, Royal Television Society